Moscow -LRB- CNN -RRB- Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared in a series of photos released by the Kremlin on Friday after a week in which canceled engagements led to speculation over his health .

The three images showed Putin meeting with the head of the Supreme Court in Moscow on Friday , the Kremlin said . State broadcaster Russia 24 also aired video footage of the meeting .

CNN can not independently confirm that the meeting took place as stated .

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov sought to quell the rumors of ill health on Thursday , joking that they were down to `` spring fever , '' Russia 's state-run Tass news agency reported .

`` When the sun comes up in spring , and as soon as spring is in the air , then the fever begins , '' Peskov said . `` Someone dreams of -LRB- Rosneft CEO Igor -RRB- Sechin resignation , others -- of government resignation , while others have not seen President Putin on TV for several days , '' he said , according to Tass .

`` We are calm on this fever , and respond to the questions with patience , '' Peskov said .

Speaking to Russian radio station Echo of Moscow , Peskov also urged people not to worry , saying that Putin was `` absolutely '' healthy .

Asked if the President 's handshake was firm , he replied that Putin `` can break a hand . ''

Last fall , rumors also circulated about the health of North Korea 's leader , Kim Jong Un , after he was absent from the public eye for more than a month . He eventually reappeared , with North Korean state media releasing photographs of him walking with a cane .

The speculation about Putin began after a planned meeting in the Kazakh capital , Astana , between the Russian leader and the presidents of Kazakhstan and Belarus was postponed at short notice .

Peskov confirmed Wednesday that the leaders had agreed to delay it for several days but did not give a new date , Tass said .

The Kremlin press office said Friday that Putin would meet Monday with his Kyrgyz counterpart , Almazbek Atambayev , in the Russian city of St. Petersburg , Tass said .

Putin 's last public appearance was Sunday , on International Women 's Day . Since then , he has had a number of meetings , but no video was released , only stills uploaded to the Kremlin 's website .

In the course of his many years in power , Putin has cultivated the image of a strong and vigorous leader .

His exploits , captured on film and released to the media , have included riding horses while shirtless , exploring the seafloor in a submersible , handling a tranquilized tiger and , just last year , earning a karate black belt .

The Russian President has been in the international spotlight in recent months after Moscow 's intervention in Ukraine , which has prompted heightened tensions with the West .

Opinion : Why has Putin gone missing ?

CNN 's Alla Eshchenko reported from Moscow , and Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported from London .

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Kremlin releases images of a meeting it says President Vladimir Putin held Friday

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Putin spokesman dismisses rumors of ill health sparked by Putin 's cancellation of planned talks